Lilliahna & Zac Ch. 08

I woke up to Isabella's crying at half past six the next morning. Zac was beginning to stir so I told him to go back to sleep and got her up. I changed her nappy and went out into the kitchen to give her breakfast while I got myself a cup of coffee to wake up.

I went into my purse and found two ten dollar notes and luckily enough, in Zac's wallet was another ten and a twenty-dollar note. I shoved them into the pockets on my dressing gown. Everyone, except Zac, was already up and dressed and getting some breakfast before they headed home.

Once breakfast was over and the dishes done, I went and woke up Zac to say goodbye to all his family members.

"Jessica, Kim and Leah, could you come here for a little bit please?" I asked.

"What is it Lil?" asked Leah as they came over to where I was standing.

"Thank-you again so much for looking after Isabella for me and Zac yesterday," I said as I handed them each ten dollars. They seemed happy with it, they probably hadn't been paid for babysitting before. They ran off to show their Mums while I watched as Zac pulled Matt aside and gave him the twenty. Matt gave Zac a huge hug and came over to give me one too. After there had been hugs all round they got into their cars and drove off. Zac pulled me too him.

"Now, we can go back to bed," he whispered. I smiled as I bent down to pick up Isabella. Now we could play happy little families until Mum and Dad got home.

I found Zac in the shower when I got back into the bedroom with Issy and decided she could probably use a wash as well. I pulled off all my clothes, and then hers before heading in to join Zac. He reached out for Issy as I stepped under the warm water and gently tickled her. She squirmed and Zac decided that he should stop as she got slippery to hold. We washed her hair before Zac decided that he would take her to get dressed.

"Have a long shower Lil, I think we should invite the others over today to catch up, we haven't seen them in a while." I nodded as he closed the door. A long hot shower was just what I felt like. When I finally got out of the shower and had gotten dressed and done my make-up I wandered off to find Zac. He was in the lounge room with Summer and Billy.

"Hey," I said, as I sat on the floor with Issy. She crawled over to me and put her head on my lap. We laughed at her before I turned to Summer to chat.

"Lil, baby, we are going to go outside and kick the footy," Zac said standing up and going over to Issy.

"Hey Bella," he said to her as he kissed her on the forehead.

"You want to come and have some boys' time?" she giggled and clapped her hands so they took her with them.

"He is so cute with her Lil," Sum cried out as they left.

"I know. I love seeing them together," I said with a smile. "What were you going to tell me?"

"Oh, I like Billy, I really, really do. But I don't know how to tell him because I know he still likes you and that he hasn't really had a girlfriend since you. I just don't know what to do," she confided in me. I laughed at her.

"What is so funny?" Summer demanded.

"Oh nothing really, just the fact that Zac was planning to try and hook you two up sometime in the near future, and I bet he is, at this minute, planting that exact seed of thought into Billy's mind." It took a moment for it all to register in Summer's mind but once it had she started laughing too.

"Let's go and investigate," I said, as I got up and headed for the laundry. I opened the door slightly so I could hear what they were saying.

"So I was wondering, what do you think of Summer?" Zac asked as they were kicking the footy. Isabella was in the outside playpen and I could see that Zac was keeping a pretty good eye on her while he was chatting to Billy. I heard Summer slowly crawl in beside me.

"She's awesome. She's Lil's best friend and she is so hot. But Summer would never be interested in me Zac, girls have this weird rule where they won't date a friend's ex-boyfriend. If it wasn't for that I would ask her out for sure." I looked at Summer and saw her smile.

"Yeah, but didn't you and Lil have a thing way back in like year seven? Does it even count if it was that long ago?" Zac asked.

"I don't know man, I don't know. Girls are complicated when they get older," Billy said as he wandered over to Isabella and picked her up.

"Why can't they stay cute and easy to understand like you are Issy?" Billy asked as he headed for the back door, where we were sitting. I turned around and quickly crawled back towards the lounge room. I heard Summer quickly following me and we managed to get to the lounge room before the guys came inside. We burst out laughing.

"What did we miss?" asked Billy as he came in and sat Issy on the floor.

"Nothing, just girl stuff," Summer said, as we continued laughing. Zac gave me a funny look, like he knew what was going on, but he chose not to say anything.

~*~ Zac ~*~

"Let's go out for lunch," I told them all. "It will be good fun." Lil went and got Issy's pram while I grabbed a bottle from the fridge. We decided to walk to the cafe, which wasn't that far away.

When we got there we ordered and I noticed that Summer was flirting with Billy, confirming my suspicions that Lil and Sum had been listening to what we were saying while we were kicking the footy.

"Can I get a small milkshake for Issy?" I asked Lil.

"Um, let her have some of yours," she told me. "It might make her sick if she has too much coz of the flavouring."

"Billy," Summer said quietly. "If you buy me lunch I'll make it up to you later." He looked at her and nodded. Looks like they would hook up after all.

Lunch was a quite affair. I fed Issy while I noticed that Lil had eaten hardly anything. Summer was still flirting with Billy and he was glancing at Lil every now and then to see how she reacted. She didn't seem to notice.

After a couple of hours, Issy began to whinge and we decided to head home. Just after we got home Lil's mobile rang and she left the room to answer it. Summer and Billy decided that they should head home so I said goodbye and got Issy out of her pram. I turned on the TV and cuddled Issy to me as I watched one of the movies that was on. Lil joined me not long after.

"Hey baby, who was on the phone?" I asked her.

"It was Mum. They are going to be heading home tomorrow and have invited us around for a BBQ lunch so they can get to know you better."

"That means Isabella won't be here anymore won't it?" I asked Lil.

"Yeah baby, but I'm sure Mum will still let you see Issy whenever you want," Lil told me, as I put my arm around her and pulled her to me.

"I love you too Zac. I'll love you forever," she told me as she hugged me.

It wasn't long before Lil fell asleep as well and I looked at her, wondering how it was that she could make me feel so many different emotions all at the same time. She made me laugh when nothing was funny and cry when nothing was sad (ok, so maybe not cry but you know what I mean). I don't know how she did it, but I loved her so much that it didn't matter. I wanted her to be with me forever.

I carefully removed my arm, which I had around Lil so I could turn off the TV. I picked up Issy, who woke up and started to cry. I took her into the kitchen and talked to her about nonsense while I waited for her bottle to warm up. Again I thought about how amazing it was that two people created something so wonderful and found myself thinking about how much I wanted kids. I had never really thought about it before, but after spending all this time with Bella I found myself thinking about it more and more.

I took Issy and the bottle into my room and fed her the bottle. Afterwards I changed her nappy and put her into the little jumpsuit that she slept in at night. I still couldn't believe that I knew how to change a nappy, or that I would do it happily.

'Who knew so much would change in such a short amount of time?' I thought as I tucked Bella into bed.

I went into the lounge room to get Lil and found her still asleep. I gently put my arms under her and picked her up, cradling her to me. She was the most important thing in my life right now; I don't know how I coped with everything before she came along. She seemed to know what I wanted and how I would react to something even before I did and I couldn't believe that she was finally mine.

As I gently tucked her into bed I knew there was no way I could ever let her go. To lose her would make my life seem like it wasn't worth living and it was then that I decided that I would ask her parents if I could marry her. I knew that you didn't need to ask the parents anymore but I still wanted too, mainly because we were so young. Family was important to me and I wanted to make sure that Lil's family approved of us getting married before I asked Lil.

*~* Lilliahna ~*~

I woke up the next morning and glanced at the clock. It was a little after eleven already. Issy was quietly playing in her cot. I got up to get her.

"You want to wake up Zac?" I asked her as I placed her on the bed and let her crawl over to him.

She placed her head on his and poked him in the tummy. Zac began to stir and Issy began to giggle.

"What are you doing Bella?" he asked, scooping her up and chucking her into the air before catching her. She was squealing with laughter I smiled. They were so cute together.

Some people say they could tell they had conceived a baby because of their body reacting to it. I felt different and wondered if the first time we had made love whether we conceived a baby. Of course, it was way too early to tell with a pregnancy test, but after watching Zac with Issy I wasn't worried about his reaction if I did turn out to be pregnant.

"I'm gunna have a shower and get ready, we have to head around to Mum's soon," I said, tickling Issy and lightly kissing Zac.

"Ok babe. I have to duck down the street and grab some stuff, can I take Issy?" he asked me.

I nodded as I headed into the bathroom, wondering what Zac had to get that couldn't wait.

By the time I had gotten out of the shower and done my hair and make-up Zac was back, but there was no sign of what he had bought.

"You all ready to go?" I asked him as I headed into the lounge to pack up Issy's toys. But Zac had already done all of that and put it all in the car.

"Yep, just waiting for you baby," he said, putting his arm around me and pulling me close.

"Bella sandwich," he said, rubbing his nose against hers. She started laughing. I think they would really miss each other when we took her home.

"Mum? Dad? Grandma?" I called out as I headed inside with Issy. Zac insisted that he would unload the car while I got to catch up with everyone, he would meet them after.

"Lil," Mum sung out, rushing into the lounge room to give me and Issy a hug. "I missed you both so much."

"It was only a few days mum," I told her, laughing and hugging her back.

Then Dad came in and I hugged him too, I was definitely a daddy's girl.

"You're looking really good Lil," dad commented. I don't know what it was lately but I was feeling really good. It had almost been a week since Zac and I had made love, probably still too early to tell, but the more I thought about it the more I thought that I was pregnant. I would keep it to myself until I found out for sure tho.

"Hey, where would you like me to put all of Bella's stuff?" Zac asked, coming in through the front door.

"Just leave it here, Jacob and I will put it away later. You don't have to unpack it now though if you don't want to Zac," Mum told him, going over and giving him a hug.

"No, it's almost done. Then we won't have to worry about it later," he said, heading outside to get some more.

"Where's grandma?" I asked. I thought I should go and say hello to her because it had been a long time since I had seen her.

"She's in the guest room unpacking her things. She didn't want me or Ann to help her but being her favourite granddaughter, she might accept some help from you Lilli. We don't know how long she's going to be staying for, it will depend on what the doctor says in her follow up visit in a week," Dad told me.

"Ok," I said laughing as I gave Dad another hug before heading off to find grandma.

"Grandma?" I called out as I knocked on the door or her room. "Can I come in?"

"Lil? Baby is that you?" she asked throwing open the door and pulling me too her.

"Yeah Grandma it's me," I said hugging her back.

"Let me have a look at you, it's been months since I saw you last," she said, pushing me back an arm's length and looking me over. "Wow Lil, you got so tall and beautiful. You seem to be practically glowing. You must be happy at the moment," She said, pulling me back to her for another hug.

"I am Grandma, I met the most amazing guy, and although we've only been together for about a week it feels like we've been dating for years. He's been through a hard time, his father just died about a week ago and his mother died a bit before that. But he is amazing, he really makes me so incredibly happy," I said.

"I can tell Lil, you light up talking about him. Am I going to meet this young man that's stolen your heart today?" she asked.

"Yes Grandma, you definitely are. And I hope you like him because I really can see myself with him for a long time to come."

"That's really good Lil. Did you want to help me with my things? Give us a chance to catch up?" Grandma asked me.

"Definitely," I said with a smile.

~*~ Zac ~*~

"This is the last of it," I said as I put the pram and port-a-cot on the floor of the lounge room. "Would I be able to talk to you guys?"

"Sure Zac," replied Ann, sitting on the lounge. "What about?"

"I know this may seem too fast to you but I want you to know how much I truly care for and love Lilliahna. I would not have gotten through the last few days without her. Even though we have only been officially together for about a week it feels a lot longer. You probably will not agree to what I'm about to ask you, and I can understand why you wouldn't, since we are both so young and you hardly know me.

"My family background definitely goes against me for this. But I could give her everything she ever wants or needs. I already have a nice house, perfect for starting a family if that was what she wanted to do. We also own a unit in the city for if she chose to go to Uni once she has finished year twelve. Last I spoke to her she was undecided if that's what she really wanted. I don't need an answer right now, I understand that you probably want to think about it for a while, I just thought it wouldn't hurt in asking and I won't do anything that you aren't going to approve of, she is your daughter and she respects and values your decisions and opinions, and so do I. I just do not want to lose her. Anyways, I should probably just get to the point hey. I was wondering if you would allow me to ask Lilliahna to marry me?"

I just looked at the ground, I didn't want to see their reactions, they couldn't be very good.

"Zac, at this point we aren't going to say no, but we would like to get to know you a bit better. Is it ok to wait a while?" Jacob asked me.

"Yes, I would wait forever for her," I said. 'I'm sounding so clichéd and corny,' I thought.

Ann smiled at my comment. "I don't see why we wouldn't say yes in the future though Zac. Thank-you very much for asking. It's appreciated," She said.

"What's appreciated?" Asked Lil, coming into the room with her Grandma.

"Having both you and Issy over the last few days while we were out of town," Jacob quickly covered.

"I'm hungry, let's go and start lunch. Zac, you can help Jacob with the Barbeque, and Lil, you can help me," Ann added as she helped Grandma into a comfy chair and handed her the remote.

"Have fun baby," Lil called after me as I followed her father outside.

"Have you ever cooked a Barbeque before," Jacob asked me.

I shook my head and when I received a puzzled look from Jacob I decided to explain.

"Mum got cancer when I was 7. She was told she wouldn't have long to live so we spent a lot of time doing family things. However she didn't listen to the doctors, and went into remission. It came back a few years later, however Mum must have known that this time it was worse, so she didn't tell anyone about the pain she was experiencing. I guess she wanted to have things normal for a little bit longer. When she finally went to the doctors they said there was nothing they could do, so Dad quit his job and began around the clock care for her.

"After she died it was like he had lost apart of himself, and barbeques just didn't happen anymore. He just spent his time drinking and wallowing in self pity. Im sure he wasn't being selfish on purpose, I mean it was just as hard on me, but although I wanted him to know that I still loved him, there was no way I could. He hurt me. So when he died that night I felt so guilty that I hadn't tried harder to pull him out of the depression that he had sunk himself into. I don't think I will ever stop feeling guilty about it. We never had a proper barbeque after mum was first diagnosed, and at 7 I was too young to be able to learn properly."

"Well them, it's about time you learnt," Jacob said, the sympathetic look disappearing. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel sorry for me.

"Yes sir," I said, with a mock salute, causing both of us to start laughing.

"What's so funny out here?" Lil asked as she came out and hugged me.

"Your man here is about to learn how to cook a barbeque, so if the food is unedible blame him," Dad said, handing me the tongs and taking a step back.

"So hows things been with Zac?" Mum asked me as we were making salads.

"Really really great Mum, I cannot believe that he is finally mine. I know we don't normally do the girly chats but after everything he's been through and everything he's lost I think we should start. I guess he's taught me not to take things for granted, you never know when something you love will be gone.

"But Mum, he is amazing. He makes me feel like the only person in the world. He cares about me so much and it's shown in the little things he does for me. I know we've only been together for a short amount of time but I really love him. I'm surprised at how easy its come to me, I mean we are so young, I shouldn't even be thinking about it, but I want him to be the person I have a family with. And you should see him with Issy, they are so cute together. She followed him around when she stayed with us. I don't want to lose him mum. I know he will never stop me from doing everything I want in life, he wants what will make me happy. I don't think I will ever find someone as amazing as him. Ever," I said. A smile spread across Mum's face.

"What?" I asked her.

"Nothing, I've just never heard you so happy," she said, looking up as Zac came in.

"The foods almost ready," he said coming over to me and affectionately placing a kiss on the side of my head. I heard Issy start to cry as she woke up from her nap.

"Can I go and get her?" Zac asked Mum. She just nodded, my bet was that she was curious about the thing they had going on.

I just laughed as I went into the lounge room to wake Grandma and tell her that lunch was ready.